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Tolbert said the boys got into a staring match with a female student during the 2014-15 school year.

"He was playing a game with her. He said she was laughing. They were engaged. When she finally giggled and said stop. He stopped,” Tolbert told WLWT last year.

The female student was cited in court papers as saying she also stared at the boys.However, the Cincinnati Archdiocese said the 12-year-old boys were suspended for one day after the girl's parents complained. The school’s principal said she felt a one day suspension was appropriate.

The Tolberts now wants the suspension “wiped off” his school record.

The Tolbert family told the court that the school issued the punishment without a proper investigation.

The school’s attorney said the principal, not the court, should decide the proper punishment.

“Intimidation is not defined anywhere in the (school) handbook,” said Andrew Cassady, St. Gabriel School attorney. “Actually, on page 15 of the handbook it expressly says that the rules of conduct are left to be defined by the administration."

Candice Tolbert disagrees. She said the case is about the rights of parents and students.

"If (the court is) saying they are not going to get involved in school matters and principals have all of the discretion, then where are the rights for the parents and the students? I think that's what this case is really all about," she said.

The appeals court judges are reviewing the arguments.

Meanwhile, the young boy involved in the incident will graduate from St. Gabriel elementary this spring.